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"You leave people thinking"
- Ray Carney (cassavetes.com)
Matt Burns is a 27-year-old independent writer/filmmaker from the Boston area whose work has been critically acclaimed by Ray Carney, a man who is known to be one of the world's experts on American Independent Film. Carney has posted many of Burns' essays on his popular indie website (cassavetes.com) and has recommended his work to readers and fans.
Films
Burns is a graduate of the BU College of Communication film program where he shot five films on 16mm film, two of which were chosen to play in exclusive screenings around the BU campus and greater Boston area. Burns has also made several short films outside BU, all of which have received much praise for their unique style and sense of humor, as well as their profundity.
Videos
In addition to his filmmaking, Burns is also a prolific video artist. He has made dance videos, music videos, wedding videos, live concert videos, video blogs, sports videos, short documentaries, "Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-type videos", and other fun projects. Some of his most popular videos include "Running in Bird Park", "Turkey Day Football 2007" (a Fox Sports parody), "Dance Machine", "Sk8 Session Hell Yeah", "Push" (a music video for BUILD A MACHINE), and the "Slumber Party Massacre 3" series.
Writing
Burns has written a total of twenty-five screenplays since the end of his time at BU, fifteen of which are feature-length. His short script "Man with a Video Camera" placed as a semi-finalist in the national 'Anything But Hollywood' screenplay contest; his feature script "Watermelon 4032" placed as a quarterfinalist in the national 'Scriptapalooza' screenplay contest; and his feature script "The Woman and the Dragon" ranked within the top twenty-percentile at the National Screenwriter's Expo in Los Angeles.
His scripts have also piqued the interest of major Hollywood agents, managers and producers (such as Richard Gladstein - Reservoir Dogs/Cider House Rules - and Larry Meistrich - Sling Blade), though as of this date Burns has found it difficult to become accepted by Hollywood.
Current Projects and News
-- Burns is currently trying to get an important project of his into the hands of actor/producer Johnny Depp. Though he is encountering extreme difficulty in getting to Depp, he is determined not to give up, as he feels it is a worthwhile endeavor. If you are Johnny Depp, or if you know Johnny Depp, or if you know somebody who knows Johnny Depp, or if you are a distant fifth-cousin of Johnny Depp, or if you just want to pretend you're Johnny Depp, Burns asks that you please contact him.
5/7/09 -- Burns completes a thirty-minute documentary entitled "A Parallel World" where he investigates a house alleged to be haunted and communicates with an entity. Go to his films page to watch it.
5/30/09 -- Pilgrim Films is interested in casting Burns in the Sci-Fi channel's "Ghost Hunters Academy".
6/6/09 -- Painting Entertainment in Los Angeles shows great interest in producing two of Burns' short comedy scripts - "So Sorry" and "Pure Sextacy"
7/4/09 -- Burns launches new blog named "The Natty Ice Diaries". Follow it at this link: http://thenattyicediaries.blogspot.com/
9/7/09 -- Burns is close to completing the first draft of his first novel entitled JOHNNY CRUISE.
10/8/09 -- Burns' "reality TV" script REGRESSED is circulating networks in Holland, some of which are showing interest.
10/18/09 -- Burns' Youtube channel has reached an audience of 170,000 people. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/m2burns
11/25/09 -- Burns has completed his first novel, entitled JOHNNY CRUISE, and is now in search of a literary agent...or, even better, a publisher.
12/12/09 -- Burns lands role in Footlighter's production of "The King of Hearts". Show goes up in May.
1/13/10 -- Burns releases new footage of himself playing percussion with BUILD A MACHINE at the "British Beer Company" in Norwood, MA. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfd6hqQ_pBg
1/28/10 -- After visiting a medium, Burns discovers that two of his "spirit guides" are John Cassavetes and Alfred Hitchcock, among others. Read all about it at this link: http://thenattyicediaries.blogspot.com/2010/01/meeting-my-guides.html
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